[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 142 (Friday, July 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44026-44027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18120]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Solicitation of Commodity Board Topics and Contribution of 
Funding Under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive 
Grants Program, Implementation

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for commodity boards to submit topics and 
contribute funding under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative 
Competitive Grants Program.

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SUMMARY: As part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's 
(NIFA) strategy to implement section 7404 of Public Law 113-79, the 
Agricultural Act of 2014, NIFA is soliciting topics from eligible 
commodity board entities (Federal and State-level commodity boards, as 
defined below) which they are willing to equally co-fund with NIFA. 
Such topics must relate to the established priority areas of the 
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program 
(AFRI) to be considered for inclusion in future AFRI Requests for 
Applications (RFAs).
    Commodity boards are those entities established under a commodity 
promotion law (as such term is defined under section 501(a) of the 
Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 
7401(a))) or a State commodity board (or other equivalent State 
entity). See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this Notice under 
the heading ``Eligibility for Submitting Topics'' for further 
information.
    If proposed topics are accepted for inclusion in an AFRI RFA after 
evaluation by NIFA, they will be incorporated into AFRI competitive 
grants program RFAs. As a condition of funding grants in a topic, NIFA 
will require an agreement with the commodity board to provide funds 
that are equal to the amount NIFA is contributing under the agreed upon 
topic.
    This Notice invites topic submissions from commodity boards as 
defined above, outlines the process NIFA will use to evaluate the 
appropriateness of these topics for inclusion in AFRI RFAs, and 
describes the commitment commodity boards will be required to make in 
order for NIFA to jointly fund AFRI applications competitively selected 
for award within a topic area submitted by the commodity boards.

DATES: Topics may be submitted by commodity boards at any time; 
however, all topics to be considered for the fiscal year 2016 AFRI RFAs 
must be received by 5:00 p.m., EDT on September 22, 2015. Topics 
submitted by eligible commodity board entities after this date will be 
considered for RFAs to be issued in future years. NIFA will hold a 
webinar to respond to questions from commodity boards interested in 
submitting topics. Details including the date and time, and access 
information will be posted on the NIFA Web site (http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/).

ADDRESSES: You may submit topics, identified by NIFA-2015-0001, by any 
of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected]. Include NIFA-2015-0001 in the 
subject line of the message.
    Instructions: All topics received must include the agency name and 
reference to NIFA-2015-0001. All comments received will be posted to 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Hedberg; Phone: (202) 720-5384, 
or Mark Mirando; Phone: (202) 401-4336, or Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Purpose

    This Notice represents the second step in implementing section 7404 
of the Agricultural Act of 2014, Public Law 113-79, which amends 
section 2(b) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant 
Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)) to require that NIFA ``establish procedures, 
including timelines, under which an entity established under a 
commodity promotion law (as such term is defined under section 501(a) 
of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 
7401(a))) or a State commodity board (or other equivalent State entity) 
may directly submit to the Secretary [(NIFA)] for consideration 
proposals for requests for applications . . .'' within the AFRI 
Program.
    In September of 2014, NIFA took the first step toward implementing 
section 7404 by publishing a Federal Register Notice, which solicited 
stakeholder feedback on implementing this provision. See 79 FR 58727 
(Sept. 30, 2014) (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-09-30/html/2014-23352.htm).
    Stakeholder feedback gathered as a result of the September 2014 
Notice informed this second step toward implementing section 7404. This 
Notice invites entities established under a commodity promotion law or 
State commodity boards (or other equivalent State entities) to submit 
topics which they are proposing for inclusion in upcoming AFRI RFAs. 
Topics must relate to the established AFRI priority areas, which are 
plant health and production and plant products; animal health and 
production and animal products; food safety, nutrition, and health; 
renewable energy, natural resources, and environment; agriculture 
systems and technology; and agriculture economics and rural 
communities. A summary statement on AFRI is included below. To learn 
more about AFRI programs, including program priorities, go to: http://nifa.usda.gov/program/agriculture-and-food-research-initiative.

AFRI Program Overview

    The AFRI program is the largest agricultural competitive grants 
program in the United States and a primary funding source for research, 
education, and extension projects that bring practical solutions to 
some of today's most critical societal challenges. AFRI programs impact 
all components of agriculture, including farm and ranch efficiency and 
profitability, renewable energy, forestry, aquaculture, rural 
communities, human nutrition, food safety, biotechnology, and genetic 
improvement of plants and animals.
    NIFA issues eight AFRI RFAs annually to solicit applications in the 
six statutory priority areas in AFRI (Plant health and production and 
plant products; Animal health and production and animal products; Food 
safety, nutrition, and health; Renewable energy, natural resources, and 
environment; Agriculture systems and technology; Agriculture economics 
and rural communities). These include six Challenge Area RFAs, which 
address the following major societal challenges: Sustainable Bioenergy; 
Climate Variability and Change; Water for Agriculture; Food Security; 
Childhood Obesity Prevention; and Food Safety. The Challenge Area RFAs 
solicit grant applications for focused problem-solving efforts and 
provide large awards (typically $1 million or more) for periods of up 
to 5 years to enable collaboration among multiple organizations and the 
integration of research with education and extension. The seventh RFA 
is the Foundational Program RFA issued annually which solicits grant 
applications that focus predominately, but not exclusively, on 
fundamental scientific research that addresses statutory priorities. 
The final RFA is the AFRI Food, Agriculture,

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Natural Resources, and Human Sciences Education and Literacy Initiative 
(ELI) RFA which solicits grant applications for undergraduate research 
and extension experiential learning fellowships, and pre- and post-
doctoral fellowships.

Eligibility for Submitting Topics

    Eligible commodity board entities are those established under a 
commodity promotion law (as such term is defined under section 501(a) 
of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 
7401(a))) or a State commodity board (or other equivalent State 
entity). Language in 7 U.S.C. 7401(a) defines a ``commodity promotion 
law'' as ``a Federal law that provides for the establishment and 
operation of a promotion program regarding an agricultural commodity 
that includes a combination of promotion, research, industry 
information, or consumer information activities, is funded by mandatory 
assessments on producers or processors, and is designed to maintain or 
expand markets and uses for the commodity (as determined by the 
Secretary).'' Section 7401(a) includes a list of such Federal laws.
    The following Federally recognized commodity boards are currently 
eligible to submit topics under this provision: Beef Board, Blueberry 
Council, Christmas Tree Board, Cotton Board, Dairy Board, Egg Board, 
Fluid Milk Board, Hass Avocado Board, Honey Board, Lamb Board, Mango 
Board, Mushroom Council, Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Board, Peanut 
Board, Popcorn Board, Pork Board, Potato Board, Processed Raspberry 
Council, Softwood Lumber Board, Sorghum Board, Soybean Board, and the 
Watermelon Board, as well as the following marketing order boards: 
Oregon/Washington pears (fresh and processed), California olives, 
Georgia Vidalia onions, SE Washington/NW Oregon Walla Walla Valley 
sweet onions, Idaho/Oregon onions, Florida tomatoes, California 
almonds, Oregon/Washington hazelnuts, Riverside County, California 
domestic dates, and California raisins.
    Additionally, entities eligible to submit topics include a State 
commodity board (or other equivalent State entity). This includes 
commodity boards authorized by State law; commodity boards that are not 
authorized by State law but are organized and operate within a State 
and meet the requirements of their authorizing statute; and commodity 
boards that are authorized by a State and operate within the State for 
commodities that have no Federal program or oversight.

Topic Submission Guidance and Procedures

    Topics may be submitted at any time and will be evaluated by NIFA 
on an annual basis. However, to be considered for the proposed fiscal 
year 2016 AFRI RFAs, topics must be received by COB (5 p.m. Eastern 
Daylight Time) on September 22, 2015.
    Each topic proposed must be submitted as a separate PDF document 
that may not exceed 2 pages in length, using 12 point font. Submissions 
must include: A clear description of the proposed topic; the total 
matching contribution that will be made by the commodity board; and a 
justification that describes how the proposed topic supports a specific 
AFRI priority area. Commodity boards may propose support for multiple 
awards for each topic proposed. For each topic the commodity board 
proposes to support, the minimum amount they must provide is $150,000 
and the maximum amount is $2.5 million total. NIFA does not intend to 
match funding from a single commodity board in excess of $10 million in 
any year. Commodity boards should only submit topics that have a strong 
economic impact on their industry and U.S. agriculture as a whole. 
Examples of topics typically supported by AFRI can be found at http://nifa.usda.gov/program/agriculture-and-food-research-initiative.
    If topics are accepted for funding, they will be incorporated into 
AFRI RFAs, and grants supporting the topic area may be awarded to AFRI 
eligible entities based on a competitive peer review process. As a 
condition of funding grants in a topic, NIFA will require an agreement 
to provide funds by the commodity board that is equal to the amount 
NIFA is contributing under the agreed upon topic. If a topic is 
selected for inclusion in an RFA, the commodity board submitting the 
topic will be required to maintain the confidentiality of the topic 
until the RFA is issued by NIFA. Commodity board funds will need to be 
made available to NIFA no later than the time awards are selected for 
funding. Applications submitted under topics provided by commodity 
boards will be required to include a letter of support from the 
commodity board that proposed the topic.

Evaluation and Notification Process

    NIFA will screen proposed research topics to ensure they were 
submitted by eligible commodity boards and consult with USDA's 
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to determine that submissions and 
proposed financial contributions are consistent with commodity 
promotion laws and commodity boards' charters as applicable.
    Commodity board topics will be reviewed by an internal panel based 
on evaluation criteria that were developed using stakeholder input from 
commodity boards and other stakeholders from government, industry, and 
academe. Each topic will be evaluated based on: Alignment with one or 
more of the statutory AFRI priority areas (six AFRI priority areas 
authorized in the Farm Bill and described in 7 CFR 3430.309); alignment 
with the President's budget proposal for NIFA, as identified in the 
Department of Agriculture's annual budget submission; and alignment 
with the priority areas in the AFRI RFAs to be released by NIFA during 
the fiscal year for which the commodity board is proposing a topic for 
funding (for example, within the AFRI Foundational Program RFA, the 
AFRI Animal Health and Production and Animal Product's ``Animal 
Reproduction'' priority area).
    From those topics received by COB (5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time) on 
September 22, 2015, NIFA will select the topic(s) that were evaluated 
the most favorably for inclusion in the appropriate FY 2016 AFRI RFA. 
NIFA will notify applicants whether their topics will be included by 
October 7, 2015. Based on the evaluation, NIFA reserves the right to 
negotiate with commodity boards should changes be required for topics 
and funding amounts to be accepted. Any changes to topics and funding 
amounts will be reviewed by USDA's AMS to determine if such changes are 
consistent with applicable commodity promotion laws.
    NIFA will evaluate topics submitted after the September 22, 2015 
deadline on an annual basis and notify commodity boards whether their 
topics will be included in subsequent RFAs within two weeks following 
the meeting of the internal evaluation panel, the date of which will be 
published on NIFA's Commodity Boards Web page at (http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/).

    Done at Washington, DC this 17th day of July, 2015.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2015-18120 Filed 7-23-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-22-P